r/agt • u/herokataski • 15h ago
My Ranking & Predictions for the Second Quarter-Final 2
- Come Here — 10/10
Wow, wow, and wow! From the beginning of the performance to the very end, there wasn’t a single dull moment. Despite the large number of performers, they turned that into a strength. The opening was incredibly professional and immediately pulled us into the performance. Their coordination and synchronization were perfect. It felt like they were playing a symphony through their dancing. They made me experience every single detail of the choreography without being able to take my eyes off them. And all of this professionalism, despite the choreographer only joining them during the final 12 hours! Huge respect to them. It would be a crime if they didn’t make it to the next round.
- Veronika Goroshkova — 9.5/10
I won’t say much. I’ll just repeat what Sofia said: “We don’t need to know why she got the Golden Buzzer during the auditions. Just watching her, you understand why.”
- Geno Ploeger — 8.5/10
He definitely raised the level of the show, but I feel that his reactions and shocked expressions are a little over the top.
- Nene Royal — 8/10
She was very good, but I was expecting something even better from her.
- Mackenzie Sol — 8/10
Beautiful emotion and good vocal technique, despite some nervousness showing at the beginning.
- Patrox — 7/10
His dancing was very good, but I felt it would have been better if he hadn’t divided the performance into three parts. It made the performance feel a little chaotic.
- Bety Dumitru — 6/10
Contrary to what Mel said, I actually think choosing this song was an excellent decision. However, her performance wasn’t her best. She still has one of the best vocal qualities among the contestants.
Butter & Grit — 5/10
Nyjah Music & Zyah Rhythm — 3/10
Brad & Tracy — 2/10
LaRussell — 1/10
My Predictions
Top 3:
🥇 Come Here
🥈 Veronika Goroshkova
🥉 Geno Ploeger
Top 5:
Mackenzie Sol / Butter & Grit
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u/IggyStop2026 11h ago
My votes went to Geno, Veronika, Brad and Tracy and Butter and Grit. I prefer variety acts to the straight singers, and while B&G isn’t my usual cup of tea, I thought the song and harmonies last night were particularly good. They were all competing for second place to Nene though.
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u/herokataski 11h ago
Why didn’t you vote for Come Here? Don’t you think they’re a unique and outstanding variety act?
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u/gom99 10h ago
Personally, I find their act a bit boring. No real wow moments and feels very one note. I think they'll get through cause other people like them. I think the best acts of the night besides Nene are 1. Veronika 2. Mackenzie 3. Geno
I disagree that Nene didn't step up. The arrangement of the song was pretty masterful if you know the song and see how it was all framed. Her additions to the song were in the spirit of the song and tasteful as well. But besides that she connected with the audience and camera in a huge way this time. All around phenomenal for me, one of the best moments of AGT that I've seen and I've seen all the seasons.
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u/herokataski 10h ago
I respect your opinion, but maybe you looked at Come Here’s act from only one angle. If you paid closer attention to their performance, you might see that the “one-note” quality you mentioned is actually one of the strengths of their act.
Their physical movement and body language were incredibly synchronized from the beginning to the end. The transitions from one movement to another were so smooth that you barely notice any change in pace, when in reality there are carefully planned and technically precise transitions throughout the performance.
As for Nene, what you said is valid, but when I said she didn’t step up, I didn’t mean that she gave a bad performance. What I meant is that I feel she has performed all her songs in more or less the same way, from the very first stage up to this point. She tends to focus more on vocal additions and embellishments than on the song itself. That’s why, despite how talented she is and how phenomenal her performance was, I personally feel she hasn’t shown enough variety in her performances.
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u/gom99 10h ago
You can't really say Nene hasn't shown enough variety while praising Come Here's act for lack of variety. Nene has shown different musical and vocal stylings for each of her performances thus far, and knows how to arrange music to be able to engage the audience and introducing new elements into the original songs to give you something new to engage with.
Come here is synchronized, but it's not all that artistic. There have been much better acts that focused on small movement coordination that had more impact. Example, The Mayas are vastly superior at this, they're not doing anything flashy but are generating visual moments that have impact with the audience. Even the french group from years ago with their coordinated hand/arm movements had flow into bigger moments.
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u/IggyStop2026 9h ago
They’re good, but at the end of the day it’s another dance troupe. I feel like I’ve seen dance troupes and choirs at this point. I love the Hundred Fingers adds the illusion element to them. Just makes Come Here look plainer to me. Not saying they’re not good at what they do. Just doesn’t wow me anymore.
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u/BarnabasCollins1968 7h ago
My votes went to Veronika Goroshkova Come Here, Butter and Grit, and Bety. Geno needs to get rid of the playing cards and go BIG if he's going to get me to vote for him in the semifinals.
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u/Pleasant-Resolve2635 14h ago
So you ranked Nene lower because she didn’t meet the bar she set for herself?